Tom Kerridge’s turkey with bacon and chestnut butter

Tom Kerridge
·4-min read
Tom Kerridge's turkey with bacon and chestnut butter
All of the flavours and seasonings within the butter soak into the turkey meat and help make it super juicy and tasty - Haarala Hamilton

This is one of my very favourite ways of elevating the humble turkey – all of the flavours and seasonings within the butter soak into the turkey meat and help make it super juicy and tasty. Do have a play with the spices that go into the butter: think maple syrup, star anise, even curry flavours, whatever you like.

I hope you enjoy this top tip as much as I do – a little bit of effort that goes a long way. If you want to use a whole, larger turkey, be sure to make a note of the weight and work out accurate cooking times. You may want to double the quantities here.

Requires 1-2 hours standing time outside the fridge before cooking and 30 minutes resting time after cooking. 

Overview

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

2 hrs 30 mins

Serves

4 -6

Ingredients

  • 1 x 3kg turkey crown (or a whole turkey)

  • 200g bacon lardons or streaky bacon

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil

  • 100g cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped

  • 4 x banana shallots, peeled and finely diced

  • 2 clementines, zested (the juice is used in glaze)

  • 10 x sage leaves, roughly chopped

  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper

  • ½ tsp five spice

  • 250g butter, at room temperature

For the glaze

  • 100ml runny honey

  • juice of 2 clementines

  • 3 tsp thyme leaves

  • good pinch of Maldon sea salt

Method

Step 1

To begin this full-flavoured recipe, take 1 x 3kg turkey crown (or whole turkey) out of the fridge for 1-2 hours to bring the turkey up to room temperature.

Step 2

While the turkey is relaxing on the side, place 200g bacon onto a chopping board and chop into a rough mince.

Step 3

Place a frying pan on a medium heat along with 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Once the oil is ready, carefully add the chopped bacon and fry until golden and crispy. You may need to break up the bacon with a wooden spoon to ensure it cooks evenly – this will help you make little crispy bacon granules.

Step 4

Once the bacon is crisp, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and place into a bowl to cool.

Step 5

Keep the pan on the heat along with the bacon fat: toss in the roughly chopped cooked chestnuts and fry for a minute or so until they begin to colour. Then throw in 4 finely diced banana shallots and sauté until they go nice and soft.

Step 6

When the chestnuts and shallots are golden, add the crispy bacon into the chestnut mix and stir together. Remove the mix from the frying pan and spoon into a mixing bowl, then leave to cool.

Step 7

Add the zest of 2 clementines, 10 roughly chopped sage leaves, ½ tsp cayenne pepper, ½ tsp five spice, salt and pepper, then toss together. Beat the chestnut mix in 250g soft butter and spoon into a piping bag.

Step 8

Now to apply the savoury butter to the bird. Carefully prize the breast skin away from the flesh all the way down to the wing bones and out to the “corners” with your fingers: essentially you are making a nice pocket for the butter to fill. Be careful whilst doing this as you don’t want to rip the skin.

Step 9

Cut a large hole at the end of the piping bag, then pipe the butter under the separated skin, gently moulding the textured butter under the skin so that all the breast meat is covered.

Step 10

Then season the turkey skin with table salt all over and lay onto a roasting tin. Place into a pre-heated oven 185C for 1½-2 hours (or longer if cooking a whole turkey), basting with the fats that come from the bird through cooking.

Step 11

To check if the bird is cooked, press a digital probe into the thickest part of the breast: it should read 70C plus.

Step 12

Once cooked, remove the turkey from the oven and then cover the bird in tin foil and rest for 30 minutes to allow the bird to relax. This will keep in moisture and retain the heat.

Step 13

While the bird is resting, place a small saucepan on medium heat and pour in 100ml runny honey. Heat it to a light caramel, then pour in the juice of 2 clementines and reduce to a sticky glaze, then remove from the heat.

Step 14

Remove the foil from the turkey and coat generously with the glaze – you will need a pastry brush for this.

Step 15

Sprinkle with 3 tsp thyme leaves and a good pinch of Maldon salt and serve on a carving platter.

Tom Kerridge’s restaurants include The Hand & Flowers, The Coach, Kerridge’s Bar and Grill and The Bull & Bear.

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